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learn direct ...anyone....

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Hi, i've just found out that learndirect are offering an A+ course that involves 2 books and online assignments that have to be uploaded to be marked by a tutor. Does this sound like a good idea, can anyone see any reason to object, my problem is that i don't have access to a desktop pc to tinker about with, my home computer is a laptop so i'm worried if i'm going to miss out on the practical side, although i'm not sure if the A+ actually has a practical side?

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I'd have to differ Rodd - there is a big hardware side to the A+. I'm not saying it's entirely unachievable to pass the cert without proper hands-on experience, but you would (in my humble opinion) be at a disadvantage if you weren't able to at least play at swapping drives, memory, cabling, etc in and out of a PC that was "spare". Also, being able to identify all the components on a real mobo, eg CMOS battery, jumpers, all the connectors etc.

My other point would be - how much are they charging you for this course ? More and more Members here are electing to do at least the A+ via self-study, using the internet (no names mentioned - OK, CertForums !) for backup.

Have to back you up on that Gav, been ongoing a year with my
A+ ( took longer through personal commitments) and I have to
say you NEED a pc to play with, even an old banger off the booters or something.

You can read as much liturature as you want, but like cars,
every pc is different, each has been tinkered around with and
played with by its previous owners, and added too.

You can pick up very cheap second hand units from boot sales
or the local rags, but i advise that you do really.

I have to go along with the crowd, here. The A+ exam has a *huge* practical side. Hardware installations, repair and diagnosis is an enormous part of an entry level tech's life. If you can't install a stick of RAM, figure out why a wireless keyboard has lost its connection to a PC, don't know what hearing two "beeps" mean when a PC is booting or are able to install a PCI card, you won't get very far.

As Cazzam says, buy a couple of cheap PCs to work on. They don't have to be state-of-the-art. Just something you can use to get your hands dirty with.

Can't help you on that particular course, but I did a C++ course with Learn Direct, and frankly their online stuff was poor at best. I certainly wouldn't want to use it as the basis for something like the A+.

would an old
486 dx2 be too old, would an amd k5 or k6 or pentium 2 be better?

Click to expand...

Hey Rodd - good to see you going for it m8. Personally, I'd say go for the P2 machine, simply because the mainboard will be ATX, which is still largely in use today, whereas the 486 box most likely is sitting on an AT board, which (hopefully) is obsolete nowadays. Might as well try and learn on as up to date equipment as you can.

I managed to buy an old pen 2 + 3 machine cos at the time
money was tight, but if you know the basics in pc's they
don't even really have to be working mate.

one i bought was given free of charge to make space for a
new pc, only to be found the memory cards had worked loose,
cheap repair really.

As we advise, getting hands on in certain situations is the only
way to really learn stuff. I've just built 3 pc's for friends over the
past week, just through the experience i've gained while learning
my A+ - So it does work.

With hands on, and a great site like this, you can't go wrong really mate.....

cheers guys, your right i'll skip the 486's, the only other problem i have is room for storage and to play with them, having 4 and 2 year old todlers don't make it easy...i can image now my 2 year old daughter walking round chewing on a sound card ...and she would if she could...

did a week long A+ course under learndirect it was franky pants that books are quite good 5 big sprial bound books as unemployed it was free would have been gutted otherwise.
highpoint was tutor showing how to download xp for free from filesharing software hardly a responsible attitude

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